So,
Tank Johnson is a Bengal? My initial reaction was the same as an other Bengal fan I am sure, seriously another criminal? Mike Brown just can't help himself, he has to go out and find that troubled, talented player and smooth the edges until he is a polished diamond that everyone will envy.
And how has that turned out for him so far?
Odell Thurman; kept it together for one year and then ran a gamut of drunk driving and assault charges until finally Marvin got fed up and threw his crap out of the locker room. After one suspension and failure to comply with the NFL's drug policy Odell is currently no longer playing in the NFL.
Chris Henry; failure from the start. He has served two different suspensions, been cut from the team and brought back, And has been linked, accused and found guilty of a myriad of issues from sex charges, to assault, to drugs. Chris Henry is back on the Bengals currently and to his credit has stayed out of trouble for a year, but you have to wonder at this point when the other shoe will drop. And those are the biggest two, don't forget that Eric Steinbach (Browns), Jonathan Joseph (Bengals), Deltha O'Neal (Patriots), Frostee Rucker (Bengals), A.J. Nicholson (No where), Mattias Askew (Denver Broncos), and Reggie McNeal (Toronto Argonauts) also were involved in incidents when with the Bengals.
So, I ask you, how am I and the rest of Bengal nation supposed to react when the Bengals bring in yet another guy with a rap sheet? I mean it actually turned my stomach and made me almost scream out. I wanted to drive down to Paul Brown Stadium and demand to talk to Mike Brown. After breathing into a paper bag for an hour and over dosing on some Prozac I did some research.
As it turns out, Tank Johnson might not be that bad of a guy. After reading up he has not been in trouble since 2007 and that was for speeding. He was going 40mph in a 20, who hasn't done that? I know I do. So, really all his issues are from 2006. And of those problems it was all because he had a gun in his car and Illinois does not have a conceal carry licence. Plus most of his altercations happened at nightclubs, and Cincinnati shuts down at 6:00 PM so he should be fine here!
He played all year last year for Dallas and was marginally productive in their 3-4 defense and is expected to be a better fit for a 4-3 like the Bengals have. After reading the facts I think this is a good move. The Bengals get a guy that is 27 and has a knack for getting to the quarterback. This will cause teams to double team him and take some pressure off Gathers and Odem. For a defense that was ranked 12th last year and could NOT get to the quarterback, just imagine what adding a 27 year old who has a history of getting to the quarterback can do? by the way Keith Rivers will be back from a broken jaw this year too!
The best part is that with a rotation of Pecko, Simms, and Johnson there is no drop off of talent, and Johnson is not coming in off the streets like Dahani Jones and Chris Crocker had to! he will be in for camp and will get to mesh and learn where he is supposed to be. Kudos to the Bengals to "rolling the dice." Even though I really feel that a guy that has not been in serious trouble since 2006 and it was for gun possession, not like he was firing it at anyone, like say Chris Henry, is not much of a risk. If this guy has 40 tackles and 3+ sacks and no legal issues then I would consider it a HUGE success and the Bengals could really use a home run here with as many called strike threes they have had!
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